Former Obama landlord Julian Castro joins 2020 …

SAN ANTONIO (AP) – President Obama, a member of the US cabinet Julian Castro, President Obama has joined the Saturday presidential race, when the rush of Democrats who take early steps to challenge the incumbent accelerates.

Castro, who eventually could become the only Latino in what is a crowded Democratic field, made immigration an important part of his announcement in his home town of San Antonio, less than 200 miles from the US-Mexico border.

Two days after the president visited the border to promote his promised wall, Castro mocked Trump for claiming that the US was in favor of an invasion & # 39; from his ally to the south. "He called it a national security crisis," Castro said. "Well, there is a crisis today, it is a crisis of leadership, Donald Trump has failed to uphold the values ​​of our great nation."

Castro, the 44-year-old grandson of a Mexican immigrant, said he ran for president "because it's time for new leadership, because it's time for new energy and it's time for a new commitment to ensure that the opportunities I have "there was available for every American. & # 39;

He made the announcement as a government shutdown drags to the longest in the history of the United States, and as the field of 2020 rivals broadens and anticipation grows around larger names still considering runs.

Castro was the mayor of San Antonio for five years and the US housing secretary on President Barack Obama's second term. He became the second democrat who formally entered the race after former representative of Maryland John Delaney.

Former mayor of San Antonio and Julian Castro Housing and Urban Development, right in the middle, is embraced by his twin brother, the American deputy Joaquin Castro (D-San Antonio), left of the center, during an event where Julian Castro decision announced to seek 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, Saturday, January 12, 2019, in San Antonio. (AP Photo / Eric Gay)

Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts also started a scouting committee for president and four other democratic senators set steady steps toward running. Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, the first Hindu elected for Congress, said this week that she is also planning a bid.

Castro starts to try to stand out early on. His first trip as a candidate comes Monday to hurricane-infested Puerto Rico, where a fuss started when the White House is considering financing disasters to pay the wall.

The deadlock over paying for a boundary wall that made Trump a central part of his campaign for 2016 led to the partial federal closure. That stalemate, together with Trump's hard immigration stands, made sharp reprimands from Castro.

"There are serious problems that need to be addressed in our broken immigration system, but applying for asylum is a legal right and the brutal policy of this government is real and permanent damage," he said.

He pleaded for the border in a 'smart and humane way'. to secure.

"There is no way in hell that caging baby's is a smart or a good or good way to do it." We say no to building a wall and we say yes to building community. "We say no to immigrants who have scapegoats," he said.

He accompanied Castro at the kick-off of the campaign his twin brother, the Democratic representative Joaquin Castro, president of the Spanish Congress Colus and a frequent critic of Trump. The plaza in Spanish style near the boys of the Castro twins was full of supporters streaming through the gates of a mariachi band. Castro said in the run-up to his announcement that a Latino candidate was a must in the field of 2020.

That group of hopeful people is beginning to take shape, even though the first primary elections are more than a year away.

Sen. Kamala Harris from California published a memoir last week, a staple of presidential candidates. Former Texas Rep. Beto O & # 39; Rourke does little to obscure speculation that he may jump into a field that has no clear leader.

Castro is aware that he is missing the name recognition of potential rivals in 2020 or the buzz around O & # 39; Rourke, whose flirtacties with 2020 donors and activists have conjured up after a tight race last year against Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.

Even some supporters at the announcement of Castro can be torn up when O & # 39; Rourke comes into the race. Diana Delrosario, a social worker in San Antonio, warned that she would cry, while she told how Castro once did his utmost best as a mayor to help her mother out of a restaurant.

"I have a heart for Julian, but it will be a big discussion if Beto decides to run," said Delrosario, 45.

Castro, who repeatedly said that an O & # 39; Rourke candidacy would make his own chances difficult, has framed the neighborhood and his upbringing as the story of an underdog.

He was raised by a local Latina activist, and after a short career in law, he was elected mayor of the nation's seventh city at 34. It was not long before the Democrats nationally embraced him as a star in the making, especially one of Texas, where a rapidly growing Latin American population is rapidly changing the demographics of the state and improving the party's happiness.

Castro delivered the keynote speech at the 2012 Democratic National Convention. Two years later, President Barack Obama chose him for the department of housing and urban development.

He was on the shortlist of Hillary Clinton's potential gimmicks in 2016. During Castro's trip to Nevada last week, one Latino manager told Castro that he should again be a top game for vice president if his campaign fails.

Like other democrats at work, Castro has said he will not accept money from political action committees connected with corporations and trade unions, and he has tried to introduce himself to voters as a champion for universal health care and affordable housing.

___

Follow Paul J. Weber on Twitter: www.twitter.com/pauljweber

Former mayor of San Antonio and Minister of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro speaks at an event where he announced his decision to seek the 2020 democratic presidential nomination, Saturday, January 12, 2019, in San Antonio. (AP Photo / Eric Gay)

Former mayor of San Antonio and Minister of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro, left at the front, waves as he arrives with his family at an event where he announces his decision to seek the democratic presidential nomination in 2020, Saturday, January 12, 2019, in San Antonio. (AP Photo / Eric Gay)

Former mayor of San Antonio and Minister of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro speaks at an event where he announced his decision to seek the 2020 democratic presidential nomination, Saturday, January 12, 2019, in San Antonio. (AP Photo / Eric Gay)

Former Mayor of San Antonio and Minister of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro, center, greets supporters at an event where he announced his decision to seek the democratic presidential nomination in 2020, Saturday, January 12, 2019, in San Antonio. (AP Photo / Eric Gay)